Thought for Today
Genesis 26:26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
1 Samuel 17:4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel, plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed.
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
This morning, I am once again thinking about Pentecost and the Advocate. My Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (yes, old fashioned paper book!) says of the word advocate, “1. One that pleads the cause of another; spec.: one that pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court <the ~ for the defense> 2: one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal.”
Sometimes, I think of advocates and advocacy in terms of the story of Job. “1:6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” In the Greek Septuagint, the word in that verse translated as the proper name Satan is ὁ διάβολος (diablos). It means the slanderer and is the most often used word translated as Satan in the Old Testament. More often in the New Testament, the Greek word used is ὁ σατανᾶς (satanas). My lexicon defines that word with “Satan, literally Adversary, the constant enemy of God and man, a supernatural evil being; in a more positive sense, permitted to be God’s agent to present moral choice to man.”
Jesus equates the Advocate with the Holy Spirit, the one that defends and maintains our cause. In the sense that Satan is the advocate of evil and presents us with the adverse side of moral choices, the Holy Spirit advocates to us the positive side, the side consistent with God’s plans and purposes. And, the Advocate defends us and supports us before God. The Advocate is our ‘council for the defense’ in God’s heavenly courts.
One of the reasons this is so prominent in my thoughts this day has to do with the fact that there are several days I celebrate each year which in my mind are related to advocacy. Obviously Pentecost is one of those days. For me, Easter is another. God’s “AMEN!” to the Incarnation, Ministry and Crucifixion of God’s Son who now sits at God’s right hand in eternity, advocating for God’s children.
Today is another of those special days. Evidently, some of us require more advocacy than do others. Today is the anniversary of my own confirmation of my other, personal advocate. On this date 59 years ago, Greta and I were married. Since that day, she has been my greatest champion and advocate, as well as my most trusted advisor. The 2 other dates I celebrate each year are connected to today’s date. One is her birthday, the other the anniversary of our first date. Three very special dates I commemorate each year.
Each day I have times set aside for prayer, devotion and meditation. At one of those times each day, I thank God for bringing us together. I cannot imagine my life without Greta at my side. I am who I am because of her birthdate, because she and I both agreed to accept that blind date and because she said, “I do.”
I must admit to not being a very detailed planner. As a youth, I did not carefully plan out my life. Even when I started college, I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to be. I chose engineering only because mathematics and science came easy for me and I enjoyed studying. I did not even imagine ever being where I am now, doing what I am doing. Before that first date, I never imagined going through life with the one I am with.
Today (and every day), I thank God for having a carefully developed plan for my life, for giving me my Advocate and my advocate. Today we set aside the day as a special celebration; but, every day is a blessed celebration of life and the one with whom I am living it.
Stay safe, listen to your Advocate, trust God,
Pastor Ray